Speculation about 2019 e-Golf

[DepletedZPM]

The lease on my 2016 e-Golf SE ends at the end of 2018, and I find that I still prefer it after taking a Bolt EV for a test drive. Tesla scares me, besides being more expensive than I'm willing to pay.

Meanwhile, my rep at Capitol VW in San Jose has limited stock and selection of 2018 e-Golfs, but expects to hear details about a 2019 e-Golf mid-December, with stock arriving in March 2019 to bridge the gap before the VW ID arrives. So I'm taking a gamble that there might be some kind of improvements on the 2019, and extending my lease.

The one real improvement that I can think of would be a battery pack upgraded to 48 kWh, a change has been speculated about for at least a year, so perhaps it's vaporware. However, I'm guessing the 2019 e-Golf itself has to be released some time for compliance reasons.

I'd be interested to hear what the longtime VW observers in the forum think...

 

[f1geek]

I'd love to see the e-Golf get more range. Here's what's happened to the battery pack so far (PHEV2 is the designation for the rectangular "prismatic" cells in the e-Golf pack): 2015 had 264 25 Ah PHEV2 cells at 3.67 nominal voltage per cell (25*264*3.67=24.2 kWh). Then the 2017 was given 37 Ah PHEV2 cells (37*264*3.67=35.8 kWh). I have read that Samsung SDI currently offers 50 Ah PHEV2 cells (50*264*3.67=48.4 kWh). I think this would give the e-Golf nearly 170 miles of range. Will VW switch? I suspect the 50 Ah cells cost more than the 37 Ah cells, and they have more mass,too. But what about cooling (and heating)? Can VW get away with a more massive pack that is passively heated and cooled? Maybe. Would VW charge more for a 48.4 kWh e-Golf?

Let's say VW put the 48.4 kWh pack and kept charging rates the same - at 7.2 kW that's about 7 hours for a full charge from empty and if VW says it takes 1 hr to get to 80% SOC with the 2017, I'm guessing at 40 kW they would have to say it would take 1.5 hours to get to 80%. The question is, are people willing to wait that long? So maybe VW would need to up the pack voltage? That would mean the pack would get hotter during charging and thus, maybe needs liquid cooling. Considering the engineering expense it would take to re-engineer the car for a liquid cooled pack, I suspect this is cost prohibitive for a model VW will phase out soon. So I'm guessing the pack will not get larger for 2019. But I hope I'm wrong.

 

[2016golfse]

I can't see VW investing any more changes to the Mk7. If there is a 2019 E-Golf, I can only imagine making Level 3 standard on the SE models and making DAP standard on the SEL's.

 

[johnnylingo]

The e-Golf will be replaced by the Neo in 2020, which will supposedly have battery packs in the 60 - 90 kW range. So it is very doubtful they'd bother with the effort of bigger batteries in the 2019s.

 

[pheonix]

The dealer shown me there are no major changes to the 2019 egolf. I ended up purchase the 2018 eGold SE with Fast Charger for $7,135 off MSRP (plus $7,500 tax credit). I did not want to take my chance and pay more for 2019 model year without any additional gain in range or features!

 

[DepletedZPM]

I missed picking up a 2018 before stock ran out, but I'm talking to a couple of dealers about 2019s; one reports getting a few on their lot as of 12/18. There's a feature matrix one sent -- I don't have a place to host it, otherwise I would share it here.

It looks like the 2019s are getting some more features standard, perhaps as compensation for not keeping up with competitors with regard to range. DCFC is now standard for both SE and SEL, and all US stock apparently is getting shipped with Driver Assist Package bundled, adding $695 to MSRP, previously unavailable on SEs.

 

[manybees]

It'll be interesting to see when the 2019 model year will actually be available in the States. It was my understanding from the Boston-area dealer where I bought my 2018 e-Golf that the 2018s were not officially released until October of this year, just getting in under the wire for emissions compliance for the year.

The 2019 MY is already available in Canada, though they only have one trim level available called the Comfortline, which appears to be a U.S. SE trim, with all of the features of the U.S. SEL Premium trim with DAP available as options. More info here: https://www.vwmodels.ca/2019/egolf/

In any case with the ID line forthcoming and many MEB platform EVs in the works from VAG in the next couple of years, the e-Golf is pretty clearly a stopgap, bridge measure that VW is using so that they can say they have something electric on the market, so I don't expect to see the 2019 or 2020 (if they have one) with any significant upgrades. Not a bad thing necessarily, as owning the e-Golf has been a great experience for me thus far and has suited our needs just fine. In fact, owning it has me considering what they might have for me when it comes time to replace my Outback in a couple of years time. The Outback will definitely be my last ICE vehicle in any case.

 

[johnnylingo]

Looks like the 2019s will be arriving in the Bay Area at least within a few weeks. Sunnyvale says they're "arriving daily" and Stevens Creek lists a few "in transit". The latter has about 10 2017/2018 models still on the lot. Capital claims to have two 2019s - I'll stop by there tomorrow and see.

I did notice the MSRP for a base 2019 SE has increased to $33k. This would indicate that DC fast charging is now standard. It'll be really interesting to see what types of deals people can get. With the White/Green HOV stickers here expiring on December 31st, I imagine the discounts will be minimal.

 

[pheonix]

I was contacted by Dirito, Walnut Cree VW earlier this week and they said they just received (2) 2019 eGolf. They mentioned that both have DC Fast Charge and Driver Assist Package (which included Blind Spot Monitoring, Autonomous Pedestrian Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control). Therefore I think those "options" might have been Standard the 2019 model year.
I did not ask for any pricing information since I am no longer in the market!
I am happy with the deal I got for the 2018 and don't think there will be too many incentives on the 2019.

 

[DepletedZPM]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

 

[miimura]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

You know the stickers issued in January will be Violet and they will expire one year later than the Red ones, don't you?

 

[2016golfse]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

Sit on the lease extension until January at the least, wait for the white sticker cars to decrease in value on the used car market, and VW may give you a lower price for you buyout the car (unlikely but possible).

 

[2016golfse]

You know the stickers issued in January will be Violet and they will expire one year later than the Red ones, don't you?

This is very correct. Violet expires 1/1/23 while the reds expire 1/1/22. That said, you can buy a car now (if there's a good deal), and immediately apply for the stickers, you'll get a violet sticker because it's based on the date of sticker issuance (no way the State will process the application quickly during the holidays), not the date of vehicle purchase.

 

[2016golfse]

Looks like the 2019s will be arriving in the Bay Area at least within a few weeks. Sunnyvale says they're "arriving daily" and Stevens Creek lists a few "in transit". The latter has about 10 2017/2018 models still on the lot. Capital claims to have two 2019s - I'll stop by there tomorrow and see.

I did notice the MSRP for a base 2019 SE has increased to $33k. This would indicate that DC fast charging is now standard. It'll be really interesting to see what types of deals people can get. With the White/Green HOV stickers here expiring on December 31st, I imagine the discounts will be minimal.

MSRP 2018 SE without DC: $31,525
MSRP 2018 SE with DC: $32,520
MSRP 2019 SE (with DC and DAP standard): $33,575

I imagine the discounts will be minimal, not because of the stickers (because the state is issuing new ones), but because GM and Tesla have already hit their 200K plug in sales cap, and thus the out-of-pocket costs Model 3's and Bolts are going up (Model 3 in January, Bolt in July). The Leaf doesn't have the long range out yet, and the Hyundai/Kia EV's are in short supply.

My suggestion is to buy a 2018 if you find a good deal.

 

[pheonix]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

Sit on the lease extension until January at the least, wait for the white sticker cars to decrease in value on the used car market, and VW may give you a lower price for you buyout the car (unlikely but possible).

I was thinking of the doing the same! However, the HOV is very important for me as it saves me at least 1 hour per day. Plus I will also have to pay to renew the registration and most likely have to replace all (4) tires during the lease extension!
I really wanted to wait until next year as there are many more EV coming on the market. However, purchasing the 2018 model year for less than $20K (after discounts and rebates) make the most economical sense for me.
By the way, I will definitely wait until 2019 to apply for the HOV sticker as stated above the new HOV sticker will expire after 3 years plus the year it was issued (total of almost 4 years).

 

[DepletedZPM]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

Sit on the lease extension until January at the least, wait for the white sticker cars to decrease in value on the used car market, and VW may give you a lower price for you buyout the car (unlikely but possible).

FWIW, the paperwork for my lease extension (6 months) sets the purchase price at $12,190. If the 2016 had battery capacity of 36 kWh instead of 24 kWh, I think I would seriously consider it.

 

[RonDawg]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

Sit on the lease extension until January at the least, wait for the white sticker cars to decrease in value on the used car market, and VW may give you a lower price for you buyout the car (unlikely but possible).

I seriously doubt the white sticker eGolfs will decrease that much even after January. Dealers are still asking rather high prices for used ones with white stickers.

Like with the Leaf, there also seems to be demand from outside the US for off-lease eGolfs.

 

[miimura]

The rush for red California HOV stickers makes me wonder if I might do better to wait until later in 2019, and sit on a lease extension in the meantime. I don't use the freeways that much...

Sit on the lease extension until January at the least, wait for the white sticker cars to decrease in value on the used car market, and VW may give you a lower price for you buyout the car (unlikely but possible).

I seriously doubt the white sticker eGolfs will decrease that much even after January. Dealers are still asking rather high prices for used ones with white stickers.

Like with the Leaf, there also seems to be demand from outside the US for off-lease eGolfs.

The thing truly holding up the price of the White sticker cars is exports. They are popular in Jordan and Eastern Europe, even though the CCS connector is wrong.

 

[DepletedZPM]

I found a way to qualify for VW partner pricing, and sprang for a 2019 lease from Capitol VW.

We found the nearby Chevy dealer had interrupted the charge on my car in order to plug a Bolt into the DCFC station, so my departure was delayed. However, I was glad to start out with a fully charged vehicle. I've had relatively little freeway driving, so the car has been estimating close to 150 miles from the full ~36 kWh charge. With that kind of capacity, running outside 20-80% SOC may happen much less frequently than with the 2016 e-Golf.

I turned in the 2016 with 28,853 miles on the odometer. The pre-turn-in inspection on the 2016 e-Golf assessed $207, for scratches under the front bumper (where I parked too close to curbs and such), so I skipped the excess wear insurance for the 2019. I had briefly considered getting a plug-in hybrid to supercede the 2016 e-Golf, but that seemed like a step backwards after living with a maintenance-free EV.

The 2019 SE closes up much of the feature differences between the 2016 SE and SEL trims, so the initially 2019 SE feels much nicer than the 2016 SE. One 2019 feature that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere is the Car screens now include a "Think Blue. Trainer" which attempts to give drivers feedback about the efficiency of their driving. To me, it looks like a graphic accelerometer log and a questionable use of both developer and vehicle resources -- I'll be surprised if anyone finds it more useful than distracting or amusing.

I have mixed feelings about the infotainment system becoming primarily a touchscreen interface. In cold weather, touchscreen-compatible gloves become more significant. Also, I miss having a dedicated Mute button. Having voice controls partially compensate. Though the voice control can be temperamental, voice makes it easier for me to traverse some 32 GB of songs that I cloned from my desktop music library, compared with the 2016 infotainment.

Other random info I've acquired from getting the new car:
- The complementary Carnet EV subscription is 24 months vs. the 36 months that came with the 2016.
- Some California VW dealers used to automatically order HOV stickers from the DMV once they knew the VINs of incoming e-Golf stock. This is no longer permitted, but as I've mentioned, the stickers don't matter to me with my current commute.
- California requires temporary license plates on newly sold cars as of 2018-12-31, because unidentifiable vehicles were responsible for losing a significant chunk of toll revenue. I got the new car in ahead of this new rule; most years, I use toll roads and bridges just 1-3 times.

 

[RonDawg]

We found the nearby Chevy dealer had interrupted the charge on my car in order to plug a Bolt into the DCFC station, so my departure was delayed.

They were able to unplug you? Was the car locked? I find that DCFC in particular has issues of “letting go” on my 2015 even if I unlock the car.

California requires temporary license plates on newly sold cars as of 2018-12-31, because unidentifiable vehicles were responsible for losing a significant chunk of toll revenue. I got the new car in ahead of this new rule; most years, I use toll roads and bridges just 1-3 times.

It’s actually after 1/1/2019, so cars sold today would qualify too: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/templp